Beaminster St Mary's Academy

Beaminster St Mary’s Academy has shown significant improvement since its previous inspection, moving from requires improvement to a good rating overall. The school fosters a positive and vibrant community where pupils feel safe and are eager to learn. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong, contributing to a supportive environment. However, while the curriculum is well-sequenced in certain areas, there are gaps in clarity for essential knowledge in other subjects, particularly in ensuring all pupils, including those with SEND, can learn as effectively as possible. This has been a key area identified for improvement by the inspectors.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy learning and feel motivated in a positive school environment.
• Strong relationships exist between staff and pupils, enhancing safety and happiness.
• High expectations for behaviour are met with fair application of rewards and sanctions.
• A well-sequenced curriculum allows for effective learning in phonics and mathematics.
• Pupils with SEND receive accurate support plans tailored to their individual needs.
• Effective phonics teaching enables most pupils to become fluent readers by key stage 2.

Areas for Improvement

• Essential knowledge in some subjects is not broken down into sufficiently small steps.
• Teaching does not always match the needs of pupils with SEND, hindering their learning.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Beaminster St Mary's Academy attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Beaminster St Mary's Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Beaminster St Mary's Academy had 18.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 14.3% of pupils at Beaminster St Mary's Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Beaminster St Mary's Academy received £9,400 and spent £8,511 for each of its 125 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £41,000 (£332 per pupil).

Across all 28 schools of Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust, income was £7,549 and spending £7,556 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Dorset · Dorset local authority: places and applications

Beaminster St Mary's Academy is part of Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust, which runs 28 schools. The nearest others:

• St Michael's CofE Primary School, Lyme Regis Lyme Regis
• Trent Young's CofE Primary School Sherborne
• St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School Weymouth
• St Andrew's Church of England Primary School Weymouth
• St John's Church of England Primary School Weymouth
• Beechcroft St Paul's CofE Primary School Weymouth
• Dunbury Church of England Academy Winterborne Whitechurch
• Durweston Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum
• Milldown CofE Academy Blandford Forum
• Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary School Blandford Forum

What is Beaminster St Mary's Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Beaminster St Mary's Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Beaminster St Mary's Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Beaminster St Mary's Academy was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Beaminster St Mary's Academy have?

Beaminster St Mary's Academy has 140 pupils on roll.

What age range does Beaminster St Mary's Academy cover?

Beaminster St Mary's Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Beaminster St Mary's Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Beaminster St Mary's Academy?

Beaminster St Mary's Academy is at Clay Lane, Beaminster, Dorset, DT8 3BY.